(Courtesy of Kaplen JCC on the Palisades) The Kaplen JCC on the Palisades Waltuch Art Gallery, located at 411 E. Clinton Avenue in Tenafly, will present “They Risked Their Lives: Poles Who Saved Jews During the Holocaust” in collaboration with the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, located in Warsaw. The show will be on display through December 31, with a special documentary screening of “Szymon’s Return” on Wednesday, December 19, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.. This film tells the story of Szymon Srebrnik, a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor who witnessed his own father’s death in the Lodz Ghetto. The film’s director Sławomir Grünberg will introduce the film and hold a Q&A following the screening. Dr. Maria H. Makowiecka of Bergen Community College, who helped curate the local exhibit, will also present remarks at the screening.
“They Risked Their Lives” is an exhibition of 18 high-quality prints that represents a compilation of stories that were collected as part of a POLIN Museum project known as “The Polish Righteous – Recalling Forgotten History.” Financed by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and officially presented by the Polish Ambassador to France, Tomasz Orłowski, the exhibition is intended to present the faces, stories and emotions of the “Polish Righteous” – and those they rescued – to the world. The exhibit utilizes quotations and iconography to explain the historical context within German-occupied Poland. It also seeks to portray what motivated people to rescue others at great peril, the activities of the Polish Underground and Polish Government-in-Exile, as well as the personal stories of priests and nuns who chose to save Jewish lives. These brave and heroic people are still a topic of discussion in contemporary Poland.
The exhibition has been made available by the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Washington, D.C, and the film screening has been make available through the permission of the director. Both are free and open to the public.
The Waltuch Art Gallery is a community space that exhibits thematically Jewish artwork, or art produced by Jewish artists. All gallery exhibits and receptions are free and open to the community, where JCC membership is not required. Gallery hours are Monday – Thursday, 9 a.m.- 10 p.m.; Friday and Sunday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.; closed Saturday and Jewish holidays. For more information on gallery exhibitions, contact Nina Bachrach at 201.408.1406 or [email protected].
